Chits Kitchen

Cham Cham Recipe is a very famous, delicious and authentic Bengali Mithai recipe prepared from fresh chenna. People also call it as Chum Chum or Chom Chom. This recipe is somewhat similar to Rasgulla Recipe which is also prepared from chenna. There are many other sweet recipes that we prepare from chenna. I will keep posting the same in my coming posts. But today we are going to prepare the famous sweet of West Bengal, the Cham Cham Recipe. It is a popular dessert recipe that we can prepare with variations of different colours of cham cham as well as stuffing.

In my earlier post I have already shared the recipe of Rasgulla where we shape the chenna into balls and then cook them in sugar syrup. We serve the Rasgullas along with sugar syrup. But in Cham Cham sweet recipe, we serve it without the sugar syrup. The process of preparing Cham Cham is similar to Rasgulla Recipe with some additional steps. The extra steps involve the use of Mawa or Khoya stuffing in between the cham cham. Also the recipe is cylindrical in shape and use desiccated coconut to coat it.

To prepare the best Cham Cham Recipe, follow the below tips:

1. Quality of Milk: To prepare soft Cham Cham, use full cream milk and not toned milk. You can use any one of pasteurized (boiled milk), un-pasteurized (raw milk), homogenized milk (raw milk from milkman) or non-homogenized milk (raw milk of packets). After heating the milk, switch off the stove. Let it cool for few minutes till it reaches a temperature equal to 80% of the initial temperature. After cooling add lemon juice to curdle the milk. Cooling of the milk helps in preparing soft cham cham. Un-pasteurized or Non-Homogenized fresh milk is best for preparing soft cham cham.
2. Moisture Content in Chenna: The moisture content in Chenna should neither be less nor should be more. It should have appropriate amount of moisture. If the moisture is high, there are chances that the cylindrical balls may break while cooking and if the moisture content is low and chenna is too dry, then the cham cham will be dense and rubbery.
3. Time for kneading dough: Knead Chenna properly to remove the grainy part and knead till oil just starts coming out. Approximately 10 minutes is enough to knead the chenna. Do not over knead the chenna so that it becomes oily. While kneading when you feel that your palm is becoming oily, then stop kneading. The time taken to knead depends on how much pressure you are applying while kneading. Also do not use water to prepare the dough.
4. Preparing Cham Cham Balls: After you prepare the dough, make small cylindrical shape balls of width 3/4 inch and length of 2.5 inch. You can increase or decrease the size of the balls according to your preference. Roll the balls in your palm till the outer layer is smooth and there is no cracks on the layer.
5. Cook Time: The Cham Cham should be cooked in a large pan so that the pan accommodates all the balls and it gets enough space to expand itself. To check whether the cham cham are cooked or not, take the balls and drop it in a glass of water. If it settles down then it means that it is cooked. If it floats, then it is under cooked.
6. Consistency of Sugar Syrup: The consistency of the sugar syrup should be watery and should not form thick threads. To make watery syrup, use sugar and water in the ratio of 1:4. If the syrup is sweeter, add extra amount of water and if the syrup is less sweet, then add extra amount of sugar. Add sugar as per your taste of sweetness. To check the consistency, take small amount of syrup between your two fingers and see how easily the thread forms. It should not be too sticky.
7. How to get White Cham Cham: To prepare white cham cham the colour of the chenna should be white and not yellowish. If the chenna is slight yellowish, the colour of the cham cham will be yellowish. Use different brand of milk to prepare white chenna. Also use white refined sugar to prepare the sugar syrup since the syrup also decides the colour of the cham cham balls. Some sugar makes the syrup yellowish which ultimately make the cham cham yellowish in colour. So use white chenna and white refined fine sugar to make the rasgullas white in colour.

There are three ways of making Cham Cham Recipe.

1. With Stuffed Mawa: In this process the stuffing of mawa or khoya is prepared and is stuffed in cham cham. It is then rolled in desiccated coconut and then garnished with pistachio and tutti Frutti. In this post I am preparing the recipe using this process only.

   

2. With Desiccated Coconut: In this process the cham cham is rolled in desiccated coconut and is then served.

   

3. With Malai Rabri: In this process, Malai Rabri is applied over the cham cham and then garnished with desiccated coconut and pistachio.

   

Today we will be preparing the Cham Cham Recipe with the first process. To prepare this recipe, first prepare the chenna by boiling the Milk and then curdling it with Lemon Juice or Vinegar. Strain the curdled milk with muslin cloth to separate the chenna from the whey. Squeeze the extra amount of water so that the chenna is neither too dry nor has too much of moisture. Take the chenna in plate and add the Corn Flour. Knead it to make smooth dough. Stop kneading as soon as oil starts coming out. From this dough make cylindrical shape balls and then keep it aside.

Now we will prepare the sugar syrup by boiling water along with sugar and cardamom. When the sugar completely dissolves with the water and it starts boiling then add the cham cham balls. Cover with lid and cook till the balls doubles its size. Switch off the stove and allow it to cool down completely. You can also cook the balls in pressure cooker. It takes less time and is quick.

Next we will make the stuffing for the cham cham. In a bowl add the Khoya, Powdered Sugar, Saffron Milk and Cardamom Powder. Mix it properly to make smooth stuffing. Take a cham cham ball and cut it horizontally till the centre of the ball. Add the stuffing in between. Roll it in desiccated coconut and garnish with Pistachio and Tutti Frutti. Delicious and tasty Cham Cham Sweet Recipe is ready to serve.

Prepare this recipe at your home and do give us your feedback in the comment section below and also rate this recipe. Don’t forget to share this recipe with your friends and relatives through facebook, twitter, instagram and pinterst

Try our other Chenna Recipes such as Rasgulla, Rasmalai and Malai Chop.

You may also like our other Sweet Recipes:

Halwa Recipes

Kheer Recipes

Cake Recipes

Let’s start preparing the delicious and mouthwatering Cham Cham Recipe,

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5 from 2 votes

Cham Cham Recipe/Bengali Cham Cham/Chom Chom

Cham Cham Recipe is a Bengali Sweet dish prepared from Chenna where chenna is shaped into balls and is then cooked in sugar syrup. It is then stuffed with mawa and garnished with dry fruits.

Course Dessert, Side Dish, Sweets

Cuisine Bengali, Indian

Keyword Bengali Cham Cham, Cham Cham, Chom Chom

Preparation Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Passive Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories

Author Recipe by Chits

Equipments:

• Muslin Cloth
• Deep Kadai or Pan
• Strainer

Ingredients:

For Cham Cham Balls:

• 1 litre Full cream milk (or 4 cups)
• 2-3 tablespoon Vinegar or Lemon Juice
• 1 teaspoon Maida or Corn flour
• 4 cups Cold Water

For Sugar Syrup:

• 2 cups Plain Sugar or Refined White Sugar
• 3-4 pieces Green Cardamom Pods (Hari Elaichi)
• 2 tablespoon Rose Water or Kewra (Optional)
• 1 tablespoon Milk
• 8 cups Water

For Stuffing & Garnishing:

• 1/4 cup Mawa (Khoya)
• 1 tablespoon Powdered Sugar
• 4-5 strands Saffron
• 2 teaspoon Milk
• 1/4 teaspoon Green Cardamom Powder
• 2 tablespoon Sliced Pistachio
• 2 tablespoon Tutti Frutti
• 1/4 cup Desiccated Coconut

Instructions:

Preparation of Chenna for Cham Cham:

• Heat the Milk in a large pot under medium heat till it comes to boil.
  
• While the Milk is boiling, keep on stirring it so that no layer is formed at the surface of the milk. Also the milk should not stick to the bottom of the pot.
  
• When the Milk completely boils, switch off the stove and allow the milk to cool down to 80% of its initial temperature.
  
• Now take the Lemon Juice and add equal amount of Water into it. Mix it.
  
• Initially add 1 tablespoon of Lemon Juice into the Milk. Stir the Milk continuously with the help of spatula or spoon.
  
• After some time, again add 1 tablespoon of Lemon Juice and stir it. You will observe that the milk starts to cuddle.
  
• Add the remaining Lemon Juice and keep on stirring it. Stir until the boiled milk gets completely curdled to form Chenna with green coloured whey (water).
  
• If the watery whey is not formed then add more lemon juice to the milk. After sometime you will see the greenish whey is formed.
  
• Now take a strainer and place over a large bowl.
  
• Place a muslin cloth over the strainer and strain the curdled milk to separate the chenna and the whey.
  
• Next pour cold water over strained chenna and wash it so that the sourness and acidic taste of the lemon juice is removed.
  
• Squeeze the muslin cloth to drain out the excess water from the chenna. Chenna should neither be too dry nor it should have high moisture.
  
• Now take out the chenna from the muslin cloth and place over a plate to prepare the dough.
  
• Slightly mash it. We will now knead the chenna along with other ingredients to prepare the Cham Cham balls.
  

Kneading and Preparing Cham Cham Balls:

• In a large plate take the Chenna. Add Corn Flour to it.
  
• Mix all the ingredients and knead them till it is soft and smooth. Do not add water to prepare the dough.
  
• While kneading the dough we must keep in mind that the dough does not leave oil. As soon as you feel that oil is coming out, stop kneading it.
  
• Now take small amount of dough and roll it to make cylindrical shaped balls. Roll it to make smooth so that there are no cracks on the surface.
  
• Follow the same process of making the balls for the remaining dough. Keep it aside in a plate.
  

Preparation of Sugar Syrup:

• Take a large flat pan or kadai and add 4 cups of water. Heat the Water over medium heat.
  
• Add sugar to the boiling water and stir it till the sugar is completely dissolved.
  
• Now add 1 tablespoon Milk to the sugar syrup. It is added to clean the sugar syrup from impurities. If you are using White Refined Sugar, there is no need to add milk into it. So skip the steps 3 to 5.
  
• As the sugar syrup boils, the impurities start floating at the surface of the syrup.
  
• Take out the impurities from the syrup with the help of spoon. You can also strain it with the help of muslin cloth.
  
• At last add Green Cardamom Pods to the syrup and allow it to boil. Now we will add the cham cham balls into the boiling sugar syrup to cook them.
  

Cooking of Cham Cham Balls:

• As the sugar syrup is boiling, add all the Cham Cham balls into the syrup.
  
• The quantity of the balls added should be such that there is twice the space around the balls as the size of the balls.
  
• Cover the pan with lid and cook for 5 minutes under medium to high flame. At this stage bubbles starts to form rapidly.
  
• After 5 minutes, open the lid and turn the cham cham balls. Cover it again and cook under high flame for 10 minutes more.
  
• After 10 minutes, you will see that the size of the cham cham balls will be double. At this time the balls should be completely cooked.
  
• To check whether the cham cham balls are completely cooked or not, take a ball, press it and release it. If the balls regain its shape, it means it is completely cooked. Follow the same process as Rasgulla. See the image of Rasgulla below.
  
• The other way to check is by dropping the balls into a cup of water. If the ball sinks, it means it is completely cooked. The process is similar to Rasgulla. See the image of Rasgulla below.
  
• If the cham cham balls are not properly cooked, then boil it again for 10 minutes more.
  
• Switch off the stove. Add Rose Water or Kewra and allow it to cool by covering the pan with the lid.
  
• When the sugar syrup completely cools, take out the balls from the syrup. Slightly squeeze out the sugar syrup from the balls and place them in a different plate.
  

Preparation of Cham Cham Stuffing:

• Dissolve the Saffron Strands in 2 teaspoon of Milk for few minutes.
  
• Take a bowl and add Khoya, Powdered Sugar, Cardamom Powder and dissolved Saffron.
  
• Mix all the ingredients uniformly with a spoon till it becomes soft.
  
• Do not over mix or the mixture will become little soggy. Keep it aside.
  

Preparation of Cham Cham Sweet:

• Take the Cham Cham balls and slit length wise in between till the centre of the cylindrical balls with other side connected.
  
• Keep the desiccated coconut and the dry fruits in two separate plates.
• Now take small amount of khoya stuffing and stuff it in cham cham balls. Be careful while stuffing so that it does not break from the other end.
  
• Next roll the stuffed cham cham balls in desiccated coconut.
  
• Garnish the Cham Cham Sweet with Pistachio and Tutti Frutti. Press it gently with your finger so that it sticks to cham cham.
  
• In the same manner repeat the above steps for all cham cham balls. Cham Cham Sweet is ready to serve. Serve it chilled.
  

Notes:

1. To cool the milk instantly, you can add a cup of cold water to the boiled milk. The milk is slightly cooled to get soft chenna. It helps in preparing soft and spongy cham cham.
2. You can use either of Maida or Corn Flour for preparing the dough.
3. The quantity of Lemon Juice should be added to the boiled milk in batches.
4. The amount of lemon juice required to curdle the milk depends upon the quality of the milk. Some milk requires more while some require less. If the greenish whey is not formed, add more lemon juice to it.
5. While boiling milk, keep stirring it continuously so that thick layer over the milk is not formed. Also the milk should not stick to the bottom of the milk or else it will burn and will change the colour of the chenna.
6. The milk whey left behind after the milk is curdled is very nutritious. It can be used to prepare atta dough or in dal and curries.
7. Adding of Kewra water or Rose water is optional. Also you can skip Green Cardamom too if you want to.
8. While preparing the cham cham balls we must be careful that there are no cracks on the surface of the balls or else it may break while cooking.
9. Mash the Chenna till is soft and smooth and there is no grain present in it. Do not mash too much so that it becomes greasy.
10. Stuffing should be done after the cham cham balls cools completely or else it may break while stuffing.
11. If you do not have Saffron at home, you can use lemon yellow or red orange natural or synthetic colours.